


The Price of Peace

by Andreinightleaf



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: It's short and bad I'm sorry, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Spoilers, robot gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:48:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7535170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andreinightleaf/pseuds/Andreinightleaf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“… I’m sorry, X… But… I think… I have to die… to restore the peace…" (A small drabble of Zero's ending in X5).</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Price of Peace

   The explosion had drawn him in, consumed him, and ripped him apart. His body was torn in half, lower part probably vanishing in the fire and light, as was his left arm. What remained was damaged; helmet, armour, one of the “power gems”, skin on his face streaked and wounded. As the smoke faded, his near unconscious form was revealed, lying back, golden waterfall of hair strewn about, eyes closed, as he barely could make the effort of opening them. Everywhere hurt, sheer agony and pain, and it was so much for him to feel he didn’t even wince, didn’t even scream. Zero simply lay there, damaged, dying.

   So it was true… what Sigma had said, of his death being near, that he wouldn’t die alone, would take the Hunter with him. The explosion from the cackling one’s body was enough to do him in, maybe much more intense and powerful than what a normal explosion was supposed to be like. Had he been planning this out all along? It… it hurt…

   It was in this state that X found him, shocked, worried, and where his heart would be beating a thousand miles per minute. It was nonbelief that struck him first, as he slowly walked up to his lover’s form, tentatively asking, “… Zero?”

   His arms were shaking; terror was taking over him, and his breaths sped up, staggered. “Zerooo! Zerooo!” He knelt by the red Hunter, picked up the remains of his body carefully, almost cradled them, but he had to keep looking at his face, keep searching for signs that he was okay, that nothing of this was really happening. He had to. “Zero! Zero! NO! Don’t die!” And he was losing control, more and more as each moment passed by without any response. Tears started forming in his emerald eyes, and he allowed them to fall unbidden, a rare moment of weakness from a Reploid so strong. Zero… his Zero… he wasn’t dead, was he? He wasn’t dying. This couldn’t be happening. His parts were still here, they could—they could rebuild from his remains, he could bring him to the Lifesavers and everything would be alright. His lower half didn’t matter as much, after all, his chest and head were whole. That’s what he’d do, he was determined— “Do you hear me? Zeroo! Zeroo!” His own physical hurt, his own pain didn’t matter; he had to be alive for him.

   “Dro… drop dead…!”

   It was an echoing voice, coming from the void beyond. X hadn’t even really noticed that there was something in the distance in this data world, but when he looked at the deformed skull, energy building up within its mouth, a feeling of foreboding washed over him. “Uh? O, oh, no…”

   A highly condensed light beam pierced through both their bodies, through their chests, where their hearts would be. The blue Hunter barely took this in, losing his hold on his partner, simply groaning weakly as the pain barely registered before he fell unconscious, a soft thud on the floor.

   Zero, however, who had been listening to his beloved’s voice as a distant echo, felt himself garner enough will to open one of his eyes slightly and move, gathering up the last of his energy in a powerful blast. “… How persistent… you are… Die… Sigma…” And then the blast was shot in the skull’s direction, but he could no longer see it, as he fell to the ground himself. The energy was now leaving him quicker, but that didn’t matter, because X had been pierced, too. “X, X…” He attempted, barely breathing, so worried about if the other would have the same end as himself. It wasn’t the time for him to die, it just wasn’t. “Do… you… hear… me?” There was no way the blond could stay awake long enough to wait out for a response, and that was when he supposed he would start crying, but he was just so exhausted, so drained, the tears wouldn’t come. “Darn… your… optimism led… to your own… demise…” He exhaled shakily, in a way that resounded throughout what remained of his body, and his voice was failing him. “You… should… li… li… live.”

   And his consciousness was also fading, as memories started rushing into his mind. A brutal fight that had previously only been in the edges of his dreams before, him, Zero, against a much younger Sigma. And Sigma, Sigma was a Maverick Hunter. He… he was a beast. He’d torn him apart, while only immense pain in his head had been able to keep Sigma from being completely annihilated. And then he was knocked unconscious, and the memory was gone. However, his thoughts wandered. ‘Hmm? It’s strange… I’ve defeated the Sigma Virus. Why did I fight against Sigma again?’

   ‘I… I feel… pain…’

   It was searing and agonizing and it was in his head and everywhere, but he was drained, feeling sick, even as all the energy and feelings were slowly fading. Ah. ‘Oh, I see… The energy is running out… and the memory device is… malfunctioning… Finally I… I’m going to die…’

   And then the figure of a man that had so haunted his dreams appeared, dark, against a holographic background. ‘…Who is this? Even now, I have no idea…’ And as much as his memory device made these recalls rush through his head, there was nothing, nothing on that man. No face, no name, no anything. ‘I’ve had a recurring nightmare… This time…’

   A scene he hadn’t seen before, wires and exposed metal, a Reploid being constructed—and that Reploid was him. ‘It’s my figure that appears…’ And then, the memory widened, made him understand beyond what was being shown. ‘I see… I finally got the meaning of the dream… What? What are you making? It’s… the one that destroys Reploids… I… understand… everything now…’ It had always been what he’d been created for, to murder and destroy. Perhaps… if that was how things would be… this was indeed the best end he could meet.

   A flashing image, this time, of someone that had also been dear to him for some time. ‘… I… Iris… I’m sorry…’ Sorry for destroying you, sorry I met the same end. Sorry… X would meet the same end, too…

   The memories faded from his vision, and finally, he was as awake as he could be at that moment, but still, everything was dimming. “… I’m sorry, X… But… I think… I have to die… to restore the peace… But now… Everything will come to an end… Good bye… X…”

   The most important person in his life. His last breaths, last words were for him, and he hoped he’d been heard, hoped the other would live on, and even if he didn’t, maybe he’d forgive him in the afterlife. Maybe they’d enjoy the afterlife, together. Yes… that was the only place where they could meet now…

   And despite it all, Zero was smiling as consciousness faded entirely from his being.

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: triggering text ahead.
> 
> Since I'm suicidal and depressed right now but can't commit suicide (unfortunately), what better option than to let out my dark feelings go somewhere, in the form of something as heartwrenching as Zero's death in X5? I think writing about death kind of makes me feel like I died in a way, so it's comforting. And it has to be with someone I respect and love dearly, so I'm kind of glad that Capcom has given the gems that were Zero's deaths, despite him keeping living on, which is also great, because we can have more of the X series to play and adore and my beautiful OT3 can flourish together. The character development that comes with death is a blessing, but in their case, living on afterwards is a much better alternative. 
> 
> I could have written this fic better, honestly, so I have to apologize.


End file.
